Bagheera (2016)
Bagheera is the tritagonist of the 2016 live-action adaptation of The Jungle Book. He is a black panther who found Mowgli as an infant and turned him over to the wolf pack. He is voiced by Ben Kingsley. The Jungle Book (2016) Ben Kingsley describes Bagheera as having a personality as being analogous to someone in the military, most likely a Colonel, and that "he's instantly recognizable by the way that he talks, how he acts, and what his ethical code is". Bagheera is the film's narrator, saying that when he found Mowgli in the jungle, he gave him to the wolf pack, led by Akela to be raised by Raksha, and afterwards served as Mowgli's mentor and as a father-figure. Bagheera first appears in the film in teaching Mowgli to hunt. When he catches him, he says that if he can't keep up with the rest of the wolf pack then he'll end up as someone's dinner. He also disapproves of Mowgli's use of human tricks such as creating tools. When Shere Khan threatens Mowgli and the wolf pack with death if they do not turn the boy over to him during the gathering for water at the watering hole during the drought, Bagheera agrees to take Mowgli to the Man-village where he will be safe. En-route, Shere Khan attacks them while they travel amidst a herd of buffalo, and Bagheera fights him; though the panther is defeated and injured by the tiger, Bagheera gives Mowgli enough time to escape Shere Khan. When Bagheera finally catches up with Mowgli, he is angry that Mowgli has decided to stay with the bear Baloo and is using human tricks and innovations when he was not taught to. A heated debate ensues between him, Mowgli and Baloo, with all of them agreeing to sleep on the matter until morning. During the night Bagheera and Baloo witness Mowgli rescue an elephant, which the other animals of the jungle revere and avoid. Afterwards, He and Baloo talk about Mowgli and his situation, as well as the death of Akela, whom Shere Khan has killed to lure Mowgli to his death. Bagheera then convinces Baloo to lie to Mowgli and say they were never friends in order to make him head for the Man-village. However, monkeys, macaques, langurs, and gibbons sent by King Louie kidnap Mowgli before he can make a decision. Bagheera and Baloo chase after Mowgli and attempt to rescue him, but are discovered just as they are about to escape from King Louie's temple. Working together, the bear and the panther fight off the monkeys while Mowgli hides from King Louie, and the chase that follows results in the Gigantopithecus's apparent death. When Mowgli finds out about Akela's death from Louie, he angrily decides to face Shere Khan to avenge Akela and runs away. When Bagheera and Baloo find Mowgli, they discover he has stolen a torch from the Man-village, accidentally starting a wildfire. Seeing this, they chase after him to find him facing Shere Khan at the watering hole. When Mowgli throws away his torch and Shere Khan attacks, Baloo, Bagheera and the wolves led by Raksha all fight Shere Khan. Mowgli at first tries to attack Shere Khan with the wolves, but Bagheera stops him telling him that he can't fight the tiger as a wolf so he'll have to fight him as a man. During the battle, Bagheera faces Shere Khan in combat again, and is again defeated after a fierce battle, but before Shere Khan can kill him, the wolves save him by latching onto the tiger. Their fight buys Mowgli enough time to set a trap in the burning jungle and kill Shere Khan once and for all. In the aftermath, Bagheera has accepted Mowgli's inventive ways, acknowledges him as a human, and his decision to stay in the jungle, and is last seen relaxing with Mowgli and Baloo in a tree. Category:Characters Category:The Jungle Book characters Category:Males Category:Animals Category:Guardians Category:Jaguars and leopards Category:Protectors Category:Wise characters Category:Pessimists Turned Optimists Category:Geniuses Category:Heroes Category:Predators Category:Cats Category:Live Action characters Category:Disney characters